Computers Column

A system that enables as many as 30 students to use one
microcomputer at a time will be tested this fall at the University of
Oregon and two public schools in Eugene, Ore.

The "Teacher Net" system links a single microcomputer with 30
inexpensive keyboard terminals around the classroom. Douglas Carnine,
coordinator of the pilot program that will also include three other
schools in other states, said the microcomputer will serve as an
inexpensive version of a mainframe computer.

Students at the keyboards will be able to gain access to programs
for diagnostic testing, instructional activities and drills, and
word-processing, said Mr. Carnine, associate professor of education at
the University of Oregon.

Because some of the programs require substantial computing capacity,
Mr. Carnine said, some students will have to work in teams. The
students would all work individually at their keyboards, but groups of
several students would have to work at the same pace.

That means, Mr. Carnine said, that programmers will need to
incorporate strategies of "cooperative learning" into the software. He
said specialists in group learning will be involved in the project.

Elwyn Rees and Roger Cocks, the two faculty members at Worcester
College in Great Britain who developed the system, visited the Oregon
campus this summer for a demonstration. They received a patent for the
system last month.

Advocates of applying the U.S. copyright law to computer hardware and
software won a major victory in a federal appeals court early this
month.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that the
Franklin Computer Corporation violated the copyright law when it copied
microchips developed by Apple Computer Inc. The federal district court
that originally heard the case may order Franklin to take its Ace 1000
microcomputer off the market.

Educators have been concerned that weak enforcement of the copyright
law could stunt the development of computer products for the classroom.
Manufacturers say they are wary of making financial sacrifices to
develop educational hardware and software if other companies are
permitted to copy the creations, but there has been considerable
confusion about what computer developments should be protected by
either copyright or patent. (See Education Week, Jan. 12, 1983.)

Experts say that determining whether the logic of a computer
invention is an artistic expression--which is covered by copyright
law--can occur only on a case-by-case basis. Creations that do not fall
under the copyright law can be patented, but getting a patent often
takes years--plenty of time for competitors to take advantage of an
unprotected work--so manufacturers have fought for the right to
copyright their creations.

Franklin officials say the company might appeal the decision to the
U.S. Supreme Court.

The Control Data Corporation is negotiating with the Group W Cable Inc.
over a plan to transmit hundreds of the computer company's
educational-software programs over cable-television lines.

If the two firms agree on terms, approximately 300,000 homes in the
St. Paul metropolitan area will be able to use their television sets
and an inexpensive computer keyboard to gain access to 12,000 hours of
courses on 6,000 Plato programs stored in Control Data's mainframe
computer in Arden, Minn. Control Data officials say the company would
charge a fee for access to educational programs on topics ranging from
simple arithmetic to automotive repair.

The plan would be similar to a program under development at
Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Carnegie-Mellon officials and
the International Business Machines Corporation plan to create a "wired
city" of computer users, in which anyone connected with the university
can conduct routine business and take courses via a microcomputer that
is connected to one of the university's mainframes.

Apple Computer Inc., which last year successfully lobbied the
California state legislature to approve tax credits for companies that
give computers to schools, has started the screening process for
donations.

Central to the donation program--which will cost the state some
$5.25 million in lost revenues--is a teacher-training course sponsored
by the company. Only schools whose teachers earn a certificate from the
course will be eligible for a free computer.

Apple officials expect 9,000 public and private schools to
eventually take part in the program. The tax writeoffs--25 percent of
the fair market value of the machines--will be in effect for all
donations until next July 1.

Apple's chairman, Steven Jobs, last year sought passage of a federal
computer tax-credit bill. (See Education Week, Nov. 24, 1982.) A
measure sponsored by Representative Fortney H. Stark, Democrat of
California, was passed overwhelmingly in the House of Representatives
but never came to a vote in the Senate.

Electronic games are now a part of the therapy program for adolescent
chemotherapy patients at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.

Three students have taken part in a study to determine how effective
home computer games are in distracting a patient's attention from his
physical and psychological problems. More patients will become part of
the study this fall.

Harold R. Musiker, the director of the Health Psychology and
Behavioral Medicine Section at the hospital, said chemotherapy patients
often develop automatic, unhealthy reactions when they are waiting for
treatment. The video games, he said, are simply an attempt to distract
the patient from his worries.

Hospital officials hope to offer the games eventually to all
patients who may be under stress, Mr. Musiker said, after analyzing
questionnaires and notes of observations to determine how effective it
is.--ce

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